Sparring Partners
by EudaimonArisornae
Summary: After Soul Society temporarily suppresses Ichigo and Renji's powers as punishment, the two men deal with their aggression by fighting. Yet soon they realize that there might be a better way to deal with their problems. Ichigo x Renji. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Day 1

"I can't believe it," Renji growled. "This is completely humiliating and I'm not gonna go through with it."

"Will you shut the hell up?" Ichigo snapped, tired of Renji's unremitting complaints. "Constantly bitching about it isn't going to make it go away."

"I'm being punished for your stupidity!" Renji repeated for the hundredth time, and Ichigo clenched his teeth. "I was with you. It sure as hell doesn't make it my fault."

"Well, I'm not from Soul Society! How the hell was I supposed to know that they were so strict about that? They sure as hell aren't strict about who can get alcohol. You know, people my age are too young to drink in the real world."

"If you weren't so damn hot headed, you wouldn't've accidentally knocked an entire building over, now would ya?"

"You're calling me a hothead? Who do you think put the finishing blows on that building?"

Two nights ago, Renji, Ichigo, and a few other Shinigami decided to celebrate a recent victory by getting plastered. Unfortunately, Renji and Ichigo couldn't resist throwing insults back and forth at each other. By the end of the night, their bickering turned into an all-out brawl.

Ichigo had never actually been drunk before, so he failed to fully appreciate how smashed he was after several hours of constant drinking. As he was clumsily swinging around his zanpakutou, Renji smacked him on the side of the head with the blunt side of his blade and laughed. Although it only stunned him for a second, Ichigo was furious.

He went after Renji and managed to accidentally release tenshou. Renji ungracefully leapt out of the way to avoid danger, but the attack punched a hole in the wall of one of the archive buildings for the Department of Technology.

Unfortunately, rather than try to stop Ichigo from doing more damage, the inebriated Renji attacked Ichigo, outraged that Ichigo nearly hit him. It all went downhill from there. By the time a completely sober Ukitake and a relatively sober Kyoraku heard the noise and rushed to the scene to stop the fight, the archive building was in ruins.

"You owe me big time," Renji muttered.

"I don't owe you a damn thing! You did just as much damage as I did!"

As punishment, Soul Society had been slightly harsher on Renji than on Ichigo, since Renji was a lieutenant and therefore should have acted more responsibly.

Renji was being forced to spend three months in a faux body in the real world. He was not allowed to use his zanpakutou, kidou, or shunpou. He would also have severe limits placed on his reiatsu—far more miniscule than the 20 standard that Shinigami were usually given in the real world.

Ichigo was under similar restraints, although living in his regular body at his father's house was not that severe of a punishment. He was a bit worried about not being able to use any fighting powers though.

Soul Society had stationed several unseated Shinigami in Karakura town to deal with the unusual number of hollow attacks, but Ichigo didn't trust them. If Ichigo or Renji ran into any Hollows, they could only use hand to hand combat… and that was hardly a comforting thought.

Renji continued his complaining. "I'm going to make these next three months a living hell for you. I'm gonna make it my sole mission t' piss you off."

"I figured that was already your sole mission," Ichigo responded coolly.

After arguing for a few more minutes, Ichigo headed back to his father's house and Renji headed for Urahara's shop.

- - -

Ichigo had just drifted off to sleep when a loud banging sound at his window woke him up. He scowled and crawled out from underneath the warm bedspread, wondering who the hell it could be.

He glanced at his window and saw Renji glaring back at him. "Let me in, asshole, I'm startin' t' draw attention out here."

Ichigo hesitated for a moment, then threw open the window. Renji abruptly jumped on his bed, narrowly missing Ichigo's leg under the blankets.

"Watch where the hell you step!" Ichigo whacked him on the back of the head, causing Renji to fly forward and fall face-first onto the floor.

Renji started to yell a few obscenities at him, but Ichigo leapt to his feet and clapped a hand onto Renji's mouth. "Shut up! My father and my two sisters are sleeping right now and I don't watch them to know you're here!"

As Ichigo unclasped the red-haired man's mouth, Renji looked Ichigo up and down with an surprised look on his face.

Ichigo looked down and scowled, realizing that he was only wearing a pair of rather snug-fitting briefs. "Shut up, I wasn't exactly expecting someone to see me sleeping tonight," he hissed, trying to hide his embarrassment. He had thrown Kon in Yuzu and Karin's room for the night, so he assumed that he would be alone for the rest of the night and had decided to sleep in his underwear.

He quickly grabbed a pair of pajama pants from his dresser and slipped them on. "Alright, Renji. What the hell do you need that couldn't wait till morning?"

Growling, Renji pulled himself to his feet. "I need t' stay here tonight. Urahara said he won't have me under his roof with such a severe restriction on my power. Finally decided to quit wanderin' around and come here t' sleep."

"Hell no!" Ichigo groaned. "There's no way you're sleeping here, so go find someone else…"

"Who the hell else am I gonna stay with?" Renji asked smartly, but he continued on before Ichigo could respond. "'Sides, you owe me one for this whole mess anyway, so I'm stayin'."

They argued about it in low tones for the next twenty minutes or so, exchanged a few kicks and punches, and then Ichigo dejectedly told him that he could stay for the night when he realized how tired he was and that he had to get up for school in less than four hours.

"You can sleep in the closet. It's where Rukia used to sleep." Ichigo silently wished Rukia was not back in Soul Society so she could deal with Renji instead of him.

Renji peered into the closet suspiciously. "How'n the hell am I s'posed to fit in there?"

Awkwardly, Renji tried to pull himself into the closet and get into a comfortable position. Once he was fully in the closet, he couldn't fully stretch out his arms or legs. He pulled himself out of the tiny closet and fell on Ichigo's floor with a clatter.

"What the hell is it now?" Ichigo groaned.

"It's too damn small in there!" Renji complained.

Ichigo forcefully threw his pillow at Renji, hitting him square in the face. "Then sleep on the damn floor! Just shut the hell up!"

- - -

Day 2

The next morning, Ichigo woke up when his alarm clock went off. He groggily rubbed sleep from his eyes, rolled off of his bed, and took a step forward.

Then he promptly tripped over Renji and fell on top of the sleeping Shinigami.

Renji awoke with a start, the breath knocked out of him. His eyes sleepily focused on Ichigo's face, then widened.

Ichigo paused for a moment, locked in Renji's stare. For a moment, they looked at each other, only inches away from each other's faces. Ichigo could feel Renji's chest rise up and down from his shallow breathing.

Suddenly, Ichigo realized the embarrassing position he was in. He cursed and awkwardly jumped to his feet. He roughly kicked Renji in the ribs and cursed at him. "Why the hell are you sleeping so damn close to the bed? Get outta here, it's morning." Ichigo idly wondered how Renji slept through his alarm.

Renji shrugged his shoulders. He was drowsy, but he couldn't help but notice that Ichigo was slightly hunched forward in an unnatural position. He yawned for a moment, then turned around and closed his eyes again.

When Renji turned away, Ichigo began blushing furiously. Although Ichigo was a substitute Shinigami, he was also a hormonal fifteen year old boy. Consequently, he typically woke up with what was infamously referred to as "morning wood." Usually this happened for no reason whatsoever but it took a little while to go away.

As he shuffled to the bathroom to take a shower, Ichigo silently prayed that Renji didn't notice it when he fell on top of the red-haired man.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thanks for reading this far. Just be patient, the pairing will happen, but it's a gradual process. Reviews are appreciated but hardly necessary for me to continue. I do appreciate criticism as well as praise._

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Chapter 2

Day 4

When Ichigo got home from school, all he wanted to do was go home and take a nice, long nap and act like life wasn't so miserable without his powers.

In an attempt to cheer him up, Inoue had invited him to join her and Tatsuki to go to a cafe, but he didn't feel like doing anything fun. He felt agitated and aggressive, and he didn't want to worry about hurting the girls' feelings right now.

He was ablaze when he finally arrived home only to find Renji sprawled across his bed, napping, with Ichigo's pillow over his face.

"Get the hell out of here. You don't have to stay here all day, go do something." He snatched the pillow off of Renji's face.

Renji blinked and turned toward Ichigo. "What the hell r'you yellin' about already? Goddamn, you're annoying."

"I just want some goddamn peace and quiet. Go away! Get out of my room!"

Renji sat up and smirked. "What the hell is up your ass today? I wasn't botherin' anyone."

He bit his lip in frustration. Ichigo was really craving a fight right now, and Renji recognized the expression. Suddenly, the red-hair man started to grin.

"How 'bout it?"

"How 'bout what?"

"You wanna fight me. Let's go."

Ichigo looked at him, dumbfounded. "Uh, dumbass, how are we supposed to fight without—"

"Hand to hand combat. They can't restrict that. Just our own strength. No reiatsu, no shunpou, no weapons." Renji grinned fiercely now, hoping that Ichigo would accept.

Ichigo suddenly realized that although the Soul Society had restricted their powers, he they did not say that the two were forbidden to go into their Shinigami forms.

"Alright," Ichigo agreed. "Let's go."

- - -

Since there was no need to worry about causing excess damage, and very few people in Karakura Town could actually see the two men in their Shinigami forms, they went outside and fought in the first large clearing they could find, which happened to be the outskirts of a park.

Ichigo quickly discovered that fighting the red-haired man in hand-to-hand combat was much different from random fist-fights at school or dodging his father's spontaneous attacks.

Renji started running at him at top speed, and Ichigo changed his stance to block the tackle that he was expecting. Yet at the last moment, Renji fluidly jumped up in the air and swung his leg around to kick Ichigo in the face. Surprised, he dodged at the last second and attempted to grab Renji by the ankle.

Renji landed, quickly turned around and ducked, avoiding a punch thrown by Ichigo. Then he rolled sideways and kicked Ichigo's feet out from underneath him.

After a few minutes of scuffling around, Renji started to grin. "Well, not a bad warm up, but how 'bout we get serious now? Are you up for it, Ichigo?"

Ichigo was a little bit out of breath, but he did not want Renji to notice. "More ready that you are," he taunted.

Renji attacked again, and he managed to land a punch to Ichigo's jaw. Blood started to drip from Ichigo's lower lip.

"Is that as hard as you can hit?" Ichigo smirked. "I think Inoue could slug me harder than that!" Ichigo rushed him, and they viciously punched and kicked each other for a few minutes. When they pulled away, Renji had a few scrapes on his arm and a few drops of blood running from his nose. Ichigo's lip was now freely gushing blood.

Ichigo and Renji continued throwing back and forth insults, but most of them were pretty generic.

"You make noises like a girl when you fight," Renji antagonized after a few more minutes of fighting. "You know, you're not really a worthy opponent without your zanpakutou."

"Shut the hell up, you dumbass. You're not even worth fighting WITH your zanpakutou. I can beat you bare-handed no problem!" He lunged at the red-haired man again, knocking him to the ground.

Renji fiercely kicked Ichigo's leg, causing him to stumble forward. He used the opportunity to grab the side of Ichigo's robe and slam him to the ground.

Ichigo had to admit, fighting made him feel a little bit better about the day's events. He hadn't been able to release his aggression since he left Soul Society. He hoped that Renji would want to fight again list this.

Just then, Renji elbowed him on the side of the head, causing his teeth to clack together.

"What the hell was that? You ELBOWED me? Who the hell ELBOWS people in a fist-fight?" he shouted.

"Quit yer whinin'," Renji growled. Ichigo narrowly dodged another elbow.

"What's up with that? Knock it off!" They were still wrestling on the ground at this point. Ichigo turned on his side and punched Renji in the stomach.

Renji grabbed Ichigo's wrist as he pulled away, pinned his arm on the ground, and used his other hand to slam Ichigo backward until he was laying flat on the ground.

A moment later, Renji was on top of Ichigo, and Ichigo realized with outrage that he couldn't move. Renji had him perfectly pinned to the ground.

"I think this is a win on my part," Renji said smugly, and Ichigo sneered at him and tried to wrestle away harder.

"Y'see," Renji continued, completely oblivious to Ichigo's struggling, "the bad part about fightin' like this is if you're _inexperienced_ enough to allow someone to pin you like this—the way I just got you down—it's pretty damn hard to get up again."

"Alright, you're made your point. Get off of me now, asshole."

"Of course," Renji continued, ignoring the struggling man underneath him, "only a complete _amateur_ would fall for somethin' like this. I mean, honestly—" Renji moved his face so his mouth was just two inches away from Ichigo's mouth—"you _are_ an idiot to fall for this."

Ichigo tried to headbutt him, but to Ichigo's surprise, Renji dodged to the right and let his face fall until Ichigo could feel the Shinigami's breath on the side of his neck, instead of simply pulling backwards.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ichigo barked. "Get away from me. What are you trying to do, make out with me?" Renji's mouth moved closer to his neck, until his lips were nearly touching Ichigo's exposed skin.

Ichigo felt a chill run down his spine, and for a few moments, he completely forgot about trying to break free of Renji's grasp.

Then, Renji slowly pulled his head away from Ichigo's neck and stared straight into his brown eyes. His face was now only an inch away from Ichigo's face.

Ichigo was still motionless, and Renji slightly relaxed his grip on his arms. They were still slightly out of breath from the fight, and Ichigo faintly realized that he could feel Renji's heart pumping against his own chest.

For a moment, Ichigo hoped that Renji wouldn't move.

A slightly conflicted look flickered across Renji's eyes, and then he let go of Ichigo's limbs and rolled off to the side. He laid down next to Ichigo, and both of the men stared up at the sky. They didn't speak for a few minutes.

"'S'getting' dark," Renji commented after a moment.

Ichigo blinked, realizing that the sun was going down. "Geez, how long were we at it? It didn't seem that long."

"It must've been at least two or three hours," he responded. Ichigo turned to him, and noticed that a grin was starting to spread across his face.

"What now?" Ichigo questioned.

"Huh? Oh—just, fightin'. It was just what I needed. Do it again sometime?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "I think I need it, too." Ichigo felt his stomach twist, wondering if that was the only thing he needed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Day 8

The weather was sunny and temperate when Ichigo woke up that morning, and he was glad that he didn't have school. He was slightly surprised when he rolled to his side and saw that Renji was already awake. The red-haired man was idly flipping through a book.

"You read?" Ichigo said, exaggerating a tone of surprise.

"That would've sounded harsher if you didn't sound like you just woke up," Renji retorted, not bothering to look up.

Ichigo scowled and rubbed his eyes. "What are you doing up so early, anyway?"

"Early? Look at th' damn clock. It's nearly eleven."

"No it's not—" he protested, glancing at the clock. It read 10:50. "Damn, I can't believe I slept so late. Why are you still here?"

"I wanted t' be here when you woke up."

Ichigo stared at him, but Renji offered no explanation for his comment. After a half minute of silence, Ichigo asked him to repeat himself.

"I wanted t' be here when you woke up," Renji repeated, then added, "so I could rub it in your face about how I beat you up so hard yesterday that you had t' come home and sleep it off for nearly twelve hours."

Ichigo clumsily leapt out of bed and aimed a hard kick at Renji's ribs. The Shinigami easily rolled away and jumped to his feet.

"If I had to sleep that long, it's certainly not because you wore me out!" Ichigo yelled. "More like fights with you are so gentle, they relax me for hours…"

"That was a pretty weak response, but that's what you're best at… weak responses." Renji effortlessly dodged a badly-thrown punch. "Alright, if we're gonna do this, at least wake up a little bit first. This is pathetic."

Suddenly he heard a dull thud against his window. He walked over to it and glanced outside. Orihime was there.

"Oi, Inoue, what is it?" he asked.

"Kurosaki-kun! Would you like to come to a picnic? Sado-kun will be there as well!" she called up cheerfully. "It's just such a beautiful day to spend outside!"

Ichigo hesitated a moment.

"I'm gonna go," declared Renji. "I'm starvin'!" He quickly started to climb out the window.

"Renji-kun! Are you going to join us?" Orihime asked.

Renji jumped to the ground. "Yeah, sounds good t' me. You comin', Ichigo?"

Frowning, Ichigo started to climb out his window as well, not sure why he was voluntarily attending a lunch prepared by Orihime.

- - -

"So, Kurosaki-kun, Renji-kun, how has it been acting like roommates for the past week?" Orihime asked eagerly. The four were seating in a circle on a blanket. Lunch was mostly inedible, but the three men were politely picking at everything so they wouldn't hurt Orihime's feelings.

"Awful," Ichigo said bluntly, gingerly chewing on a piece of meat that tasted faintly of cinnamon sugar.

"Terrible," Renji added.

"Aww, I'm sure it's not so bad!" she gushed. "I bet it's like a sleepover every night!"

"Inoue," Chad asked softly, trying to change the subject after noting the irritation on Ichigo's face, "where is Ishida?"

"He wouldn't come," she said, her lips pouting slightly. "In fact, Ishida hasn't spoken to me in the last few days. Not since we got back!"

"Yeah, come to think of it, he's been a pain in the ass this past week. It seems like he just gets like that sometimes. He's so stuck up," Ichigo said.

"He's a Quincy," Renji pointed out. "I'm surprised he ever associated with you at all. Although," he added to Ichigo with a slightly jeering tone, "I'm surprised anyone wants to be around you."

Ichigo clenched his jaw. "Why don't you just get the hell out of here then, Renji?"

"Want to come over here and say that to me?"

"You guys," Orihime chided, "Don't start fighting!"

Ichigo and Renji locked eyes for a moment, and Renji silently mouthed something to Ichigo with a slight grin on his lips.

Ichigo wasn't sure what Renji said, but he couldn't get Renji's lips out of his head for the rest of the picnic.

- - -

Later on, Ichigo casually asked Renji what he had been trying to say. It turned out that he had just made a comment about finishing the fight later. Unfortunately, this knowledge didn't help Ichigo get those lips off of his mind.

After the picnic, Ichigo had to go back to the Kurosaki clinic for a couple of hours to help his father with some chores. When he finished, it was dark outside. He went up to his room and found Renji lying on his bed.

Ichigo scowled, grabbed Renji by his shirt, and yanked him to the floor. "Get offa there, idiot."

"Ass," Renji murmured, pulling himself to his feet. "Are you finally done? I've been waiting forever."

"You want to go right now? Is that all you think about?"

Renji chuckled. "No, but you don't wanna know what else I think about. C'mon, we're going," he commanded, already starting to pull himself out of his gigai.

Ichigo hesitated for a moment, wondering what exactly Renji was referring to. Then he shrugged it off and quickly started chasing the Shinigami.

- - -

Ichigo thought he had figured out how to constantly avoid Renji's unyielding pin technique. All it took was a little concentration.

Yet tonight, Ichigo kept thinking back to Renji's breath on his neck, about the feeling of the red-haired man's lips nearly touching his skin… the same lips that had been running through his head all day. His cluttered thoughts were slightly hindering his reaction time.

The sparring usually made him feel better instantly, but tonight he felt like the knot in his stomach was being yanked even harder. _Guess I just need to fight harder then_, Ichigo thought. Still, he felt like with each passing moment, he was being wound tighter and tighter.

"What's wrong with you t'night?" asked Renji mockingly. "You're so unfocused!"

Ichigo blinked and barely dodged a kick from Renji.

"See? You could've easily missed that one if you were payin' attention."

"I'm fine," growled Ichigo.

Renji paused for a moment. "You're obviously not fine. You don't even look like you're havin' fun tonight. What the hell is goin' on with you?"

"Even if there was something wrong with me, it's none of your goddamn business." Ichigo gritted his teeth together. "Maybe if your attacks were better, I'd feel the need to pay attention," he added half-heartedly. He didn't want to throw back and forth insults tonight. He just wanted violence.

The Shinigami took a step forward. "Now I know something's wrong, you didn't even—"

"Just SHUT UP!" Ichigo screamed at him, launching himself at the red-haired man.

Renji's eyes widened in surprise, and before he had time to dodge, Ichigo knocked him to the ground.

The two men slid back two or three feet, with Ichigo on top of Renji. Renji quickly threw the boy off of him, dodging a couple of kicks and punches. As Renji tried to get up and retreat, Ichigo grabbed Renji by the hair and yanked him back down.

"What the hell—ouch!" Renji exclaimed, surprised that Ichigo went for his hair of all things. He felt his hair slowly coming undone and cursed.

Ichigo struggled to get back to his feet, but Renji knocked him over again. They exchanged blows for a moment.

The bandana across Renji's forehead was gradually sliding down his face, and he took a moment to yank it off. Unfortunately, this pause gave Ichigo an opening. He knocked Renji in the jaw, causing him to bite down on his lip. A few droplets of blood appeared.

The red-haired Shinigami was a bit taken aback by Ichigo's sudden fervent attacks. Although they were considerably more fierce, they were also sloppy and ill-planned.

As soon as Renji saw an opening, he jumped on top of Ichigo and pinned down his arms.

"What the hell is goin' on, Ichigo?" Renji asked angrily. "What's got you all worked up?"

Ichigo struggled to move, quickly realizing that in his carelessness, he had allowed Renji to pin him down again. "That's a really stupid question, Renji. We're having a fight here! Why would I not be worked up?" Realizing he was unable to move, Ichigo started to curse.

Renji paused for a moment. Most of his hair had spilled out of his hair tie, and long tendrils of red hair were spilling across Ichigo's face as Renji leaned over him. "Well," he finally responded, "sure it's a fight, but you haven't been _this_ worked up the last couple of days."

"Why do you care if I'm a little more wound up today?"

"Well, your attacks are also pretty terrible…"

"Shut the hell up and get off of me!" Ichigo futilely tried to throw the Shinigami off of him.

Renji shook his head, and the tips of his hair tickled the top of Ichigo's nose. Realizing this, Renji moved his head slightly closer so his hair would stay on either side of Ichigo's head.

"Dammit, I can't believe I fell for this same stupid trick again!" Ichigo shouted. His adrenaline was pumped from the fight, and he wasn't ready to lie still.

"Sorry, Ichigo, I'm not lettin' you up now," Renji smirked. "I told you, you're bein' sloppy and this is exactly what you get for it. Now I'm gonna keep you right here till I feel like lettin' you go."

Ichigo continued to struggle, and Renji leaned in closer. "Yeah, I bet you wish you could hit me," he taunted, "but you're not gettin' free." His tightened his grip on Ichigo's arms.

Realizing that he needed to calm down or he would never be freed, he subsided his struggling. The rest of Renji's hair slipped out of the hair tie, and Ichigo found himself being enveloped by Renji's hair.

The red tendrils felt surprisingly silky and cool against his heated skin. He could smell the faint blend of shampoo and sweat in Renji's hair, and he felt slightly aroused by it. Reflexively, he tensed his hips.

The gesture did not go unnoticed by Renji. He stared at Ichigo for a moment, then grinned wickedly. "Y'know, I certainly don't want t' stop fighting with you, so don't think you can let your guard down." He lowered his head a little bit more.

"If you want to fight me, then just do it!" Ichigo challenged.

Suddenly, Renji filled in the gap between them. He pressed his lips firmly against Ichigo's.

For a moment, Ichigo tried to cry out, but then he succumbed to the forceful kiss. After a moment, Renji released Ichigo's arms and put his arms behind Ichigo's head. Their lips remained firmly locked together.

Ichigo responded by putting one hand on Renji's back and pressing him closer. With the other hand, he firmly wrapped his fingers in the thick tendrils of hair falling into his face.

The kiss was angry and aggressive, and to Ichigo, it seemed to melt away the knots in his stomach. The red-hair man's tongue was firm and insistent, and Ichigo blindly responded to its demands, the fight momentarily forgotten.

After a minute or so, Renji pulled away and smiled wolfishly. Ichigo stared into Renji's eyes, trying to figure out what was going through his head.

Without breaking the intense gaze, Renji jumped to his feet and resumed a fighting stance.

"Come on, the break's over. Get the hell up!"

Ichigo propped himself up for a minute and looked at Renji. His lustrous red hair was falling across his eyes. Renji hastily brushed it back, not taking his eyes off of Ichigo.

Although Ichigo hadn't completely digested what had just happened between them, he jumped to his feet and quickly resumed the fight. He was definitely a lot more focused this time around.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you, everyone, for the kind reviews! There will be two more installments after this chapter, which I will probably post in the next week or so. Thanks for reading!_

_- - -_

Chapter 4

Day 10

Two days had passed since Renji had kissed him, and Ichigo found himself a little bit bothered by it. When they had arrived back at Ichigo's room that night, nothing seemed to have changed. They didn't address what happened. They just kept on deriding each other as usual.

Yet when Ichigo went to sleep that night, he noticed his pillow smelled faintly of Renji's hair. Then he felt bothered that he noticed such a stupid detail.

The next day was Sunday, and Ichigo spent most of the day doing chores at the clinic. By the time he got back to his room, Renji had left. He did not return until late in the evening, when Ichigo was about to go to sleep. Although they didn't get to have what was quickly becoming their daily fighting session, he went to sleep without a troubled mind.

Today, Ichigo was at school. It was just a few minutes before he could go home for the day, and he both longed for the final bell to ring and wished that it would never come.

All day, he had mulled over the implications of what had happened between Renji and himself.

Renji kissed him, and Ichigo enjoyed it. The mixture of sex and violence was a thrill that he longed for again. Ichigo could not remember a time when he had felt so elated.

Ichigo realized that perhaps the automatic acceptance of what had happened was a bit brash. To him, the kiss felt like the apex to their fight. The kiss was vicious and unrestrained, as though it was simply another blow being thrown in their fray.

Yet he felt himself worrying about what Renji would expect out of this slight change in their relationship.

By the time the bell rang, signaling the end of classes, he felt agitated and disconcerted, and he didn't feel like he had a better grasp on the situation.

He walked home slowly, unable to collect his thoughts.

When he arrived home, he carefully opened the front door, expecting Isshin to launch out at him. What he found was even more surprising.

Renji was sprawled across the couch in the living room watching TV with Kon sitting near his feet.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Renji looked up at him. "What's it look like? Don't worry, no one's home. Everybody left a little while ago, and I been keepin' an eye out."

"Yeah, like you kept an eye out when I was coming in!" Ichigo fumed.

"I knew it was you," he said idly. "Your family's got pretty unique reiatsus, I can feel 'em a mile away. Can you get him outta here, though?" He pointed a thumb in Kon's direction. "He hasn't shut up since he came down here."

"I can't take it anymore, Ichigo!" Kon launched himself at Ichigo and started bawling. "The way I'm being treated is horrible!"

Ichigo idly punted Kon to the ground.

"PLEASE! Let me back in your room!" Kon begged.

"I can only stomach one of you in my room at a time. If you stay, Renji's gotta go."

Kon turned his attention to Renji and started to beg, but the red-haired man quickly interrupted him.

"I'm not goin' anywhere, and you don't even want t' know what I'll do if you so much as hint at it again," he replied coolly, eyes glued to the TV.

"YOU'RE ALL SO CRUEL TO ME!" Kon whined pathetically. Ichigo kicked him across the room, and the doleful plushie sat back down on the end of the couch and remained silent.

"Renji, you really ought to get out of here," Ichigo warned.

Renji waived a hand at him nonchalantly, and gestured toward the seat next to him. He moved his long legs back a few inches so Ichigo would have room to sit. "Come on, just a little bit longer. I don't even know what t' hell this is, but I don't wanna stop watchin' it yet."

Sighing, Ichigo look a seat next to Renji. He watched the television for a moment, then glared at Renji. "You idiot, this is an infomercial."

"I'm not an idiot—I know _what_ it is. But what the hell is this product supposed to do? I been watchin' this thing for twenty minutes and I still don't know."

They watched for a few more minutes. Then Renji yawned and stretched out his body again, propping one leg on Ichigo's lap.

Ichigo instantly tensed. _What the hell is he doing?_ he wondered. The thoughts that had him in a jumble all morning returned. Panicking, Ichigo knocked Renji's foot off his lap.

"What the hell was that for?" Renji growled, immediately moving his leg back to its former position.

"I'm not your goddamn foot-rest," Ichigo retorted, pushing his leg away again.

Renji sat up. "Y'know, I'm getting' tired of you always bein' in such a bad mood, Ichigo."

"It's because you're such a pain in the ass."

"I'm not the one tryin' to be confrontational here, I'm just sick a' bein' crammed into your tiny room!"

"No one told you that you had to stay in it all the time! You're allowed to leave the house." Ichigo suddenly remember that Renji _had_ disappeared yesterday, and hoped that Renji would not try to counter his argument with that information.

Rather than respond verbally, Renji idly shoved Ichigo sideways. The shove wasn't that hard, but it set off a chain reaction between the aggressive men

Kon quickly scampered back upstairs when the fight started. He didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.

Unfortunately, Ichigo was worried about breaking the furniture, so he kept trying to throw Renji in the direction of the couch. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Ichigo managed to secure a hard punch to Renji's jaw.

Just as the red-haired man fell backward, he grabbed Ichigo by the shirt and pulled him down on top of him.

For the second time, Ichigo felt his lips lock with Renji's lips in an angry kiss. His tongue eagerly moved inside of Ichigo's mouth, aggressively prodding his tongue. At first, Ichigo instinctually followed suit.

The sudden kiss in the middle of their scuffle aroused him, and he continued in the angry kiss for a full minute before he remembered how perplexed he had felt all day.

Ichigo suddenly pulled away and stared at Renji incredulously.

"What's the matter?" Renji asked, grinning. He casually wiped away saliva from the edge of his lips.

"What the hell, Renji?" Ichigo shouted. He quickly moved over so he was sitting beside him instead of on his lap.

The red-haired man stared at him a moment, one eyebrow raised.

Ichigo felt his face turn red, and he quickly turned away from Renji to mask his embarrassment.

Renji studied him for a moment. Then his expression softened and he put one hand on Ichigo's shoulder. Ichigo looked up and noticed the hint of concern in his eyes.

"Sorry, Ichigo. Didn't realize it bothered you that much. Just seemed appropriate." The low rumble of his voice sounded sincerely apologetic, and Ichigo felt a breath catch in his throat.

Renji watched Ichigo for a few more moments, then removed his hand from the boy's shoulder and stood up. "I'm gonna go back upstairs now, in case your family gets back. If you need me t' leave for a bit, let me know."

Ichigo stared at the red-haired man's broad back for a moment, surprised by his sudden altruism.

"Wait, Renji…"

Renji froze by the foot of the staircase and turned around slowly. "Hm?"

"Look, I think I'm just a little… well… it was just odd, and I was surprised… and—"

"If you got somethin' to say, say it. Otherwise we don't need t' talk about it, it just won't happen again," Renji said carefully, trying to mask the chagrin in his voice with irritation.

Ichigo stared into his fierce brown eyes for a moment, and he realized that Renji was going through the same set of emotions as he was.

"I had no problem with it," he responded finally. "There's no need to apologize." Ichigo surprised himself by the assertiveness of his tone, but after the words escaped his throat, he believed that he said the right thing.

Renji eyed him for a moment, and one corner of his mouth turned up slightly. "Glad t' hear it."

Ichigo quickly moved to tackle Renji again, pinning him against the wall. Renji tried to break free by shoving Ichigo away, but instead Ichigo pressed his body more firmly against the red-haired man. They locked eyes for a moment.

Renji understood the cue, and he started to vigorously kiss Ichigo. He wrapped his arms around him and held him forcefully against his body, not allowing him to retreat.

In response, Ichigo slammed Renji's body against the wall. Renji pulled away for a moment, then painfully bit Ichigo's lip. The faint metallic taste of blood filled Ichigo's mouth, mingling with the taste of Renji's saliva as he plunged his tongue into the back of his mouth.

Renji pushed Ichigo off him for a moment, causing him to fall backwards onto the bottom of the staircase. Renji leaned over him and grabbed his wrists, acting like he was going to pin him down.

Instead, Ichigo overpowered him, causing Renji to lose his footing and fall on top of him. Once again, they resumed combatively making out with each other.

After a few more minutes of this, Renji suddenly sat up.

"What is it?" asked Ichigo, slightly out of breath, trying to fight the urge to pull Renji's lips back to his.

"Your family's close…"

"Shit!" Ichigo yelped, his flushed face suddenly turning pale. "Get upstairs!"

The two of them quickly raced back to Ichigo's room and closed the door just as Isshin stuck his key in the lock.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Day 30

For one month, Ichigo and Renji's powers had been restricted.

The sparring sessions had turned into a necessary routine between them, if only to keep their sanity. While the reason they needed to fight day after day was unspoken, they both understood that it was something they could not survive without.

Yet tonight, severe thunderstorms were delaying their routine. The torrential rain was not that troublesome, but the lightning was.

Ichigo tried to brush off the longing for his release with Renji. His father and sisters were downstairs, so the most they could muster indoors was a light scuffle. Ichigo knew that would not be enough to satisfy him.

Renji was staring out of the window, his head resting on his crossed arms. His stare was distant, and his expression was completely blank. In fact, Renji had been in that position for quite some time.

Strangely enough, Ichigo did not even consider yelling at Renji to get off of his bed. While the arguments between the two men had not lessened over the past month, they seemed to be more relaxed around each other.

Ichigo still got flustered with Renji over some of the ridiculous things he did and said. However, they had also become more accustomed to each others ways. Ichigo had been letting certain habits of the red-haired man slide by him, not even realizing it. Letting Renji occasionally lay down on his bed was one of those things that he had stopped complaining about.

Ichigo was sitting at the table by his bed doing homework. He glanced back at Renji again. _Why is he so listless today?_ he wondered. He glanced at the clock and realized that Renji had been in that position for at least an hour.

He slid back his chair and looked over at Renji, staring at the back of the man's head. After several minutes, Renji reluctantly lifted his head up and turned to look at Ichigo. "What? I can feel you starin' at me. It's buggin' me."

"I'm not the one who's been staring out the window for the past two hours."

Renji frowned. "S'none of your business how I spend my time."

"It is when you're annoying the hell out of me. What are you looking at, anyway?" Ichigo asked moodily.

The red-haired man somberly glanced out the window again. "Not really lookin' at anything, but there've been a lot of Hollow attacks tonight," he said quietly.

Ichigo's eyes widened. "What? Where? I didn't even notice."

Renji raised an eyebrow. "They've all been far away, but I figured you could feel it."

Ichigo glowered at Renji. He hated the fact that Renji was much better at sensing spirit energy than he was.

"There have been at least five of them," he continued. "They've all been taken down, but it just doesn't feel right. Shouldn't be so many, when there've been so few lately."

Suddenly, Ichigo understood the shift in Renji's attitude.

For thirty days, they had been completely powerless to protect anyone.

_Could we even defeat a hollow if one attacked us right now?_ Ichigo wondered silently.

Ichigo got up from his desk and sat down next to Renji. Renji turned around so he was lying on his back instead of his stomach. He moved a little bit closer to the wall to give Ichigo more room.

"I'm gettin' so sick of this," the red-haired man muttered under his breath.

"Me, too," Ichigo replied.

Renji turned to his side and looked at Ichigo. "We're not goin' out tonight, are we?"

Ichigo looked out the window. The storm was still in full force, and the temperature was outside was cold. He pondered it for a few moments.

"Nevermind," Renji said finally. He was still turned on his side, facing Ichigo.

Ichigo hesitantly leaned backward, staying as close to the edge of the bed as possible. Although he and Renji had shared a few heated moments, he felt a little bit uneasy lying next to him. He began to wonder why he didn't just stay seated at the table, and silently scolded himself.

"Two months left," he murmured, frowning deeply. "It's too long."

"Well, us complainin' isn't gonna stop a damn thing," Renji rumbled.

Ichigo glanced over at Renji. The tormented lines on Renji's tattooed forehead made Ichigo suspect that the man still wanted to complain, but Ichigo wasn't going to force it out of him.

Suddenly, Renji stiffened a moment.

"What is it, Renji?" Ichigo asked. Then his eyes widened as he felt the same thing that Renji felt.

"Another damn hollow." Renji closed his eyes, a small vein on his forehead starting to throb. "That makes a total of six. Why the hell're there so many tonight?" Ichigo noticed that the red-haired man was clenching his fists. His entire body seemed to be ready to explode.

Yet Ichigo perfectly understood Renji's wrath. He felt the same way, although he had his emotions slightly more in check for the time being. It was difficult to suddenly lose all of your powers when your life revolved around finding the strength to protect others.

Renji opened his mouth as if to speak, then snapped it closed.

"What?" Ichigo asked him, not really expecting a response.

Renji shook his head. "It was nothing. I just feel so… I don't like this feelin'."

_Helpless_, Ichigo thought. He didn't want to say the word out loud either, but he knew what Renji meant. Saying the word out loud would make the feeling that much more real.

Ichigo closed his eyes for a moment, feeling his own blood pressure starting to spike. He could feel a slight tremor in the mattress and he realized that Renji was shaking with anger.

"Dammit," Renji cursed. "This is so friggin' stupid that we have to sit in here when hollows could attack any goddamn minute!"

"Look, Renji, you said it yourself. Bitching about this isn't gonna change anything."

"Yeah, well, I'll bitch if I want to," he growled.

Ichigo was still lying back on the bed with his eyes closed, one arm propped behind his head. He felt Renji start to sit up, but he made no attempt to move over.

The next thing Ichigo knew, the larger man was leaning over him and Renji's tongue was in his mouth.

For a brief moment, Ichigo felt a wave of relief wash over his body. Yet he also felt the compulsive need to stop the kiss. He pushed Renji forward until their lips broke contact.

"What the hell is the problem?" Renji asked.

It was the first time the two men had kissed that was not under the pretense of a fight, and Ichigo felt strange.

Renji was still leaning over him, and Ichigo would feel the Shinigami's body quaking from his festering rage. Ichigo felt completely speechless. He did not know what was wrong, only that he had the need to get away.

Again, Renji leaned down and pressed his lips against Ichigo's. He kissed harder than before, trying to melt away his anxiety.

"Wait," Ichigo said, his lips still partially pressed against Renji's. "Why are you doing this now?"

Renji plunged his tongue into Ichigo's mouth again for a moment, then pulled away. "You know exactly why. You've known exactly what this is all along. Don't make me say stupid things."

The answer was ambiguous, but Ichigo did understand. This time, when Renji tried to kiss him, he did not try to fight back. They held the kiss for several minutes, traversing their tongues back and forth in each other's mouths. Even in this seemingly tender moment, the two men were still waging battle against one another as their anguished tongues slid back and forth, fighting to gain new territory.

Renji pulled away for a moment and pressed his forehead to Ichigo's forehead, panting slightly. The only thing was he could smell was Renji, and the scent stimulated him and made him wish that Renji would move his lips back to his own.

Instead, Renji moved his lips down to Ichigo's neck and raked his teeth lightly against Ichigo's skin.

A startled gasp slipped out of Ichigo's throat. He impulsively grabbed the back of Renji's shirt and pulled Renji's body more tightly against his own. Renji moved down lower on his neck, alternating between sucking and biting.

Ichigo felt a shiver run down his spine. The intense feeling was almost more than he could take. He felt his spine arch slightly in pleasure.

Renji pulled his head up and looked at Ichigo. They were both breathing heavily. Renji studied Ichigo's flushed face for a moment.

"What?" Ichigo said with some irritation.

"Just didn't expect that kind've reaction, that's all," he said gruffly. Ichigo noticed that Renji's body already seemed considerably less tense, and he was no longer shaking.

He yanked Renji back toward him and ferociously kissed him again. The biting had been a stimulus for Ichigo to drop any inhibitions. He simply accepted that this was exactly what he wanted to be doing right now.

Renji was a bit surprised by the sudden forcefulness, but he responded voraciously to the kisses. The red haired man raked his fingers down the sides of the t-shirt clinging to Ichigo's body until he reached his hips. Then he slid his strong hands underneath the t-shirt.

Ichigo pulled away from Renji's eager lips to let out another unintentional gasp. Then he moved his own mouth to Renji's neck. He ardently ran his tongue across the red-haired man's tattoos, and Renji let out a low moan of pleasure. Ichigo responded by nibbling on his neck.

And then the sound of a soul communicator abruptly brought them back to reality.

Cursing, Renji fumbled around in his pocket for the noisy device. He sat back for a moment, tried to steady his breathing, and then answered.

A minute later, he hung up, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Our powers are being reinstated early. There's an emergency back in Soul Society. They've arranged passage for me to return tomorrow morning."


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue

Ichigo woke up at dawn to a light rustling noise. He sat up and looked around. Renji was carefully shoving all of his blankets to the side of Ichigo's room.

Yawning, Ichigo sat up and stretched. "You about to go?"

Renji nodded. He looked up at Ichigo, his expression undecipherable. "I was tryin' to be quiet since it's early."

"It's alright," Ichigo said quietly. He was slightly perturbed that Renji was trying to leave without saying anything. Yet Ichigo realized that he didn't know what to say.

"Well, I'm outta here," Renji told him, heading toward the window. He opened it and paused for a moment.

Ichigo stared up at him curiously. He wasn't sure what he wanted, but he was waiting for something to happen. The thought of a long good-bye made him feel uncomfortable, yet he felt like something needed to be said before the red-haired man disappeared from his life for an indefinite period of time.

Finally, Renji opened his mouth to speak. Ichigo felt his breath catching in his throat.

"See ya later," he said simply, and then he disappeared out the window.

For several seconds, Ichigo stared at the window. _Is that all he's going to say?_ Ichigo thought with some frustration.

Every day, since he and Renji were first punished, he had anxiously awaited this day. He had his room to himself. He had his powers reinstated. The obnoxious Abarai Renji would soon be back in Soul Society and out of his life.

Still, Ichigo was so offended that Renji left without even saying good-bye. _See you later_, Ichigo thought with a sneer. _Like he's just going to the store or something._

Ichigo laid back in his bed and tried to get back to sleep, but his mind would not let him rest. His thoughts drifted back to the night before.

Last night, Renji and Ichigo had reacted to the news from Soul Society with mixed feelings.

They briefly speculated what the emergency could be, but they quickly shifted the topic to how eager they were to fight at full power. They both expressed that they were eager to have their powers back, yet in light of the good news, they were unusually subdued.

Neither man brought up the possibility of fighting or any further physical interaction. In fact, immediately after the call was received, Renji had removed himself from the top of Ichigo's body and laid back down on the bed.

Instead, the conversation shifted into their lives as Shinigami. Renji told Ichigo about growing up on the Rukongai, attending school at Soul Society, and working his way up to his current rank. He told him about the different squads he had been in, and about the time he had spent training with Ikkaku.

Ichigo told him about how he used to see spirits before he ever met Rukia and how drastically his life changed when she gave him her powers. He also told him about the training that he had to go through with Urahara to regain his Shinigami powers.

During this long conversation, Ichigo noticed that although they were lying next to each other, Renji was being careful not to get too close to him. Even when he gestured during certain stories, he kept his hands far away from Ichigo. Their shoulders were touching, but that was mainly due to the small size of Ichigo's bed.

After a while, Renji mumbled something about needing to sleep. He carefully stepped over Ichigo. As Renji wrapped himself in the blankets on the floor that he had been using as a make-shift bed, Ichigo felt strangely calm.

The last thought that crossed Ichigo's mind before he went to sleep was that this conversation was the first time the two men had ever spoken for so long without an argument breaking out.

Now, Ichigo lay in his bed restlessly. Snippets of his final conversation with Renji replayed in his mind again and again. He realized that despite all of their arguing, somehow he and Renji and forged a deep friendship in their time spent together.

Ichigo was no longer looking forward to Renji going back to Soul Society.

He hesitated to call Renji a friend, yet he could not deny the camaraderie between them. Perhaps, after being so close for the past month, the antagonism between them had turned into a certain fondness.

Ichigo recognized that he shared many similarities with the stubborn Shinigami. He had not fully understood just how alike he and Renji were until last night. They had many parallel experiences in their lives, and they had similar outlooks on the adversities that they had faced.

The thought of chasing after Renji crossed his mind, if only for a proper good-bye. Ichigo looked at his clock. Renji had left nearly an hour ago. It was too late to try to catch him.

_And what am I thinking, proper good-bye? _Ichigo thought, scowling at himself. _I don't even know what that would be. Maybe Renji said exactly what needed to be said. I'll see him again someday._

He bit his lip. _Someday… but when will that be?_

With a pang, Ichigo realized he was going to miss Renji.

- - - - - - - -

_A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing. It has been greatly appreciated and it's encouraged me to start a few other stories that I've been thinking about for a while. I know that some of you aren't going to be very happy with this ending, so I'm sorry if I disappointed anyone. _

_I'm considering writing a sequel to this one of these days. Let me know if anyone would be interested in something like that. Thanks everyone!_


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